HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I bought my crabs on June 22 & set up their tank on the 23. One went to hide and dug down under the ee almost immediately, haven’t seen him since. The other one was hiding behind a branch until yesterday when I moved him to see if he was ok. He seems fine, but he hasn’t eaten or had water as far as I can tell. I put him in the freshwater and salt water pools, to feel the water a little bit. I tried offering him food, but he didn’t want any. He was in the same spot this morning that I left him in last night. He’s popping his legs out of his shell a bit & his feelers but basically just sits there. Needless to say I’m concerned.

So the tank is set up as follows- humidity between 75-90%, temperature 75-85. One half of the 10 gallon tank is moist ee and the other half is a mix of sand and ee in sand castle consistency. The substrate is about 4-6+ inches deep. I give them a variety of fresh food, peanut butter, fruit, nuts, meat, veggies and they have bowls of treated salt and freshwater.

Any advice or input would be so appreciated!

Hello. Hermit crabs need time to adjust to their environment. I recommend giving them time to do so. During this time, I don't recommend handling them. Hermit crabs are also nocturnal (although during the summer they can be more diurnal). Make sure you give them plenty of hiding places. Provide calcium. Use a dechlorinator with your water that removes chlorine, chloramine, and detoxifies ammonia and heavy metals. Don't use products labeled for hermit crabs. They aren't safe. Use marine saltwater like instant ocean. Substrate should be a minimum of 6" or three times the height of your largest crab for the entire tank. Hermit crabs like to dig and need that space for molting as well. IMO - humidity should never dip below 80 and can go up to 99%. IMO, I keep my temps from 78 (low at night) to 85 (high during day). Good luck!

I recommend filling this out if you would like for us to check out your tank specs:
http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 27&t=46102

Thank you. Also, I just posted in emergencies because his leg just fell off!

I replied there